According to German daily Boersen-Zeitung, Andreas Treichl, the CEO of
Erste Bank has stated that the bank will monitor German banking market for a couple of years before entering. Treichl has stated that the German market is more interesting than one would assume, but this is not the time for
Erste Bank to ‘think about Germany in any form’. The CEO has confirmed that the bank’s main task currently is the integration of BCR.
Separately, the CEO has stated that the possibility of a merger between
Erste and OTP Bank is unlikely.
Our view:
The article came as a response to
Erste Bank withdrawal from the bidding process of the sale of Germany's Landesbank Berlin. We do not expect the news to have any significant impact on the stock price.